Man accused of desecrating grave of slain Columbia 7-year-old Knowledge Sims
A man has been arrested and is accused of desecrating the grave of a 7-year-old male who was shot to death in Columbia last year.
The Columbia Police Department, Richland County Sheriff’s Department and the Midlands Gang Task Force arrested Jurnee McDaniel, 19, and charged him with desecrating the grave of Knowledge Sims at Serenity Memorial Gardens on Buckner Road in Columbia. The suspect is accused of doing about $200 in damages at the grave.
McDaniel was being held at Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center as of Friday afternoon. He is charged with destruction/desecration of a grave. The vandalism reportedly happened on May 20, according to Columbia Police spokeswoman Jennifer Timmons.
McDaniel is “accused of damaging lighting and decorations around the grave,” Timmons said. She added that “some items were thrown around at other parts of the cemetery.”
Sims was killed on May 1, 2020 while at his home on Tarragon Road. At the time, police believed two gunmen shot dozens of rounds from outside, targeting the house where Knowledge lived with his mother, grandmother and six siblings.
“We know as we speak right now that people know who did this and why it occurred,” Police Chief Skip Holbrook said at the time of Sims’ death. “If a murder of a 7-year-old … doesn’t tear at your heart, I don’t know what will.”
But, in the more than 13 months since Sims’ death, the case remains unsolved. Timmons said Friday afternoon that the investigation into Sims’ death remains ongoing.
This story was originally published July 2, 2021 at 1:14 PM.
